Puerto Rican Artist Nicky Jam Withdraws Trump Endorsement
The musician’s about-face comes just a month after he appeared on stage with Donald Trump in a MAGA hat.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Reggaeton star Nicky Jam has withdrawn his endorsement of Donald Trump after comedian Tony Hinchcliffe referred to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage” and made racist remarks targeting Hispanics and Latinos during the former president’s Madison Square Garden rally.
The singer publicly threw his support behind the GOP presidential nominee in September, donning a MAGA hat and appearing at a Las Vegas rally where he told the former president and attendees “We need you to be the president.”
His endorsement sparked immediate backlash and led to Manà, a Mexican rock band, removing their collaboration with Jam, “De Pies a Cabeza,” from streaming services.
On Wednesday, however, Jam announced he no longer supported Trump in an Instagram video.
“Never in my life did I think that a month later a comedian would come to criticize my country and speak badly about my country,” he told his 43 million followers on the app. “And therefore, I withdraw any support for Donald Trump and step aside from any political situation. Puerto Rico deserves respect.”
The Trump campaign attempted to distance itself from Hinchcliffe’s “garbage” joke claiming the remark “does not reflect the views” of the former president. But, neither Trump, nor his team, took issue with the comedian’s other crass and offensive comments.
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Trump even claimed he didn’t hear any of comic’s controversial speech.
The musician, who was born in Massachusetts but moved to Puerto Rico as a child explained his then-support of the former president in his social media post, citing the economy as his primary motivation.
“I thought it was the best for the economy in the United States, where many Latinos live, we live. Many Latinos, including myself, many immigrants are suffering because of the economy, and him being a businessman, I thought it was the best move,” he continued.
Jam’s denouncement of Trump follows a number of condemnations lodged by fellow Puerto Rican, Latino, and Hispanic celebrities and politicians since his New York City rally including Bad Bunny, Ricky Martin, Luis Fonsi, and Jennifer Lopez (who is set to speak at a Kamala Harris rally on Thursday).
The chairman of the Republican Party of Puerto Rico, Ángel Cintrón, also called the comments “unfortunate, ignorant and entirely reprehensible” in a statement posted to social media, while former close friend of Trump, Geraldo Rivera, warned Latino men not to vote for the former president.
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